When I was a young girl in Mexico, my mother always cooked for our family. I was often in the kitchen watching her cook and sometimes I was allowed to help with small tasks. When I was about eight years old, I surprised my mom by preparing an entire meal – pasta soup with vegetables – for the whole family.

From this moment on, I continued to improve my skills by asking my mom and grandparents their cooking secrets. They passed on their traditions and taught me the value of not wasting any food.

Our custom was and always has been to cook with fresh ingredients. I have noticed different eating habits here in the U.S. Most of the time, Americans cook with processed foods and are wasteful. Also, it is more common to see families eating out or eating fast food. It seems that Hispanic families have adopted these less healthy eating habits.

Nowadays, families eat few meals per day, yet the portions are large and less healthy. In comparison, in my grandparents’ day they would have up to five meals a day and they were healthier. First, there was breakfast, where you would only drink coffee or hot chocolate, with bread. Second, there was lunch; this was usually soup, an empanada, or scrambled eggs with refried beans. The main meal, or second lunch, usually took place at around 2 p.m. This is the largest meal of the day with a variety of food. Following this would be the afternoon “merienda,” which would simply be a sandwich, bread and hot chocolate, or a chunk of “chorizo,” spicy pork sausage. The last meal of the day would be a dinner similar to the second lunch, but not as large. The family would gather to eat each meal together.

Today, life is more hectic and it is almost impossible to maintain customs from the past. But, in my home, I try to maintain the tradition of cooking from scratch for the sake of my family’s health. Preserving my family traditions sets a positive example for my children, as well as provides food that is healthy, delicious and rich in natural ingredients.

Mealtime is very special in our family. We know that when we sit down at the table, we won’t use our cell phones. We usually talk about our day. During the conversation, we act respectfully and give eye contact to the person we are talking to. Some of our other customs are to thank the person who cooked. Our phrase is “Thank you for this delicious food.” We give a hug and a kiss when we ask, “May I be excused from the table?”

Having at least one meal together as a family will strengthen our family bonds, improve communication with our children, and if the meal were somewhat healthy, it would be even better.